US gong to honour back-line heroes

AMERICAN troops who launch drone strikes and direct cyber attacks may be recognised with a new medal, the first combat-related award to be created in the US since the Bronze Star in 1944.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said that for the first time the Pentagon was creating a medal that could be awarded to soldiers who had a direct impact on combat from afar.

''I've seen first-hand how modern tools, like remotely piloted platforms and cyber systems, have changed the way wars are fought,'' Mr Panetta said. ''They've given our men and women the ability to engage the enemy and change the course of battle.''

The new blue, red and white-ribboned Distinguished Warfare Medal will be awarded to individuals for ''extraordinary achievement'' related to a military operation that occurred after September 11, 2001. Unlike other combat medals, it does not require the recipient to risk his or her life to get it.

The medal would be considered to rank slightly higher than the Bronze Star, but lower than the Silver Star, defence officials said.

Over the past decade of war, remotely piloted Predator and Reaper drones have become critical weapons to gather intelligence and conduct air strikes around the world. They have been used extensively on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and northern Africa, but have proved controversial in many of those countries for inflicting civilian casualties. Cyber attacks have been seen as a growing national security threat.

The Pentagon does not publicly discuss its offensive cyber operations or acts of cyber warfare.

AP

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